This homemade basil pesto is made with a handful of fresh and flavorful ingredients. Fresh herbs make any meal instantly more flavorful and beautiful.
Quick and versatile, pesto can be used in a variety of recipes like Pesto Chicken, Pesto Pull Apart Bread, Pesto Pizza and more. And, this from-scratch pesto is much easier than you think and tastes worlds better than store-bought.
One of my favorite things about summer is the bounty of fresh herbs that are just outside my doorstep. Fresh herbs make any meal instantly more flavorful and beautiful. My favorite thing to do with all of those fresh herbs (aside from sprinkle them on everything) is to make pesto!
Pesto is one of my absolute favorite, ultra-flavorful sauces. It tastes fresh, herbal, nutty, garlicky and luxurious, all at once. Today, I’m sharing my favorite pesto recipe.
WHAT IS PESTO?
Pesto is basically a bright green sauce that is made from crushing together basil, walnuts, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.
Pesto originated in Liguria, Italy, where pesto is made in a mortar and pestle. (In fact, “pestâ” means “to pound.”) I don’t have the patience to crush basil by hand, one handful at a time. So, I recommend using your food processor.
Pesto is one of my favorite condiments to keep on hand. Try these easy, fun pesto recipe variations to brighten pasta, salads, roasted veggies & more!
It’s easy to make in the blender or food processor with just few ingredients, and always tastes so fresh and delicious.
WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED?
Most of the ingredients needed for this pesto recipe are things you probably already have on hand. If you don’t have basil growing in your garden, it’s best to buy it fresh the day you are making the sauce. To make this basil pesto recipe, you will need:
- Basil: Use fresh basil leaves. The common basil leaves for pesto are large leaf basil, sweet basil, or Genovese basil
- Walnuts: Lightly toasted, to bring out the flavor and yield smoother, silkier pesto.
- Parmesan Cheese: Parmesan is salty and creamy, and tones down the anise flavor. You can use freshly grated or pre-grated cheese.
- Garlic: No need to mince, your blender or food processor will do that for you.
- Lime juice: I always add a bit of lime or lemon juice to brighten up the flavor
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: I recommend using good-quality oil for the best flavor.
- Salt and Black Pepper: It amps up all the other flavors and reduces the bitterness of the basil.
HOW TO MAKE BASIL PESTO?
With a food processor or blender, it comes together in just a few steps:
Add the toasted nut along with the basil, garlic, salt and parmesan cheese; pulse until finely chopped.
Then add olive oil and lemon juice and pulse few more times. Pause the blender and scrape down the sides, then pulse again until the mixture is smooth.
Serve immediately or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
That’s it! It’s really simple to make, and it’s easy to vary according to the season or your mood.
PESTO RECIPE VARIATIONS:
There are endless variations you could make to this pesto recipe. Here are a few though!
- Different greens/herbs: You can use cilantro, mint, baby arugula, spinach, parsley.
- Different nuts: You can use pine nuts, pecans, almonds, peanuts. For nut-free version you can use pepitas , hemp seeds or sunflower seeds.
- Vegan Pesto: You can replace the Parmesan with nutritional yeast.
- Additional heat: You can add the crushed red pepper flakes or a few slices of jalapeno to give pesto an extra kick.
- Additional flavor: You can add roasted red pepper, sun dried tomatoes, a charred jalapeno, artichoke hearts, etc.
HOW TO USE THIS BASIL PESTO?
Regularly used as a pasta sauce, PESTO is extremely versatile and has many other uses.Here are some of my faves way of using it as a:
- A sauce for any meat or fish.
- Add it into an Alfredo sauce.
- Spoon it over roasted vegetables.
- Spread into a sandwich or grilled cheese.
- Drizzle over gilled or baked chicken.
- Use it as an appetizer and spread onto crostini or crusty garlic bread.
- Serve as a dip!
- Mix it through a salad to use as dressing (like our Pesto Grilled Chicken Avocado Salad).
- A pizza topping!
HOW TO STORE BASIL PESTO?
To refrigerate pesto, store it in a air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Also, to prevent browning and also help the pesto last a bit longer, feel free to pour a thin layer of olive oil on top of the pesto to cover its surface.
You can freeze it in large batches if you would like. And also you can freeze it in ice cube trays and then pop the cubes out and into a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE OTHER SAUCES LIKE,
Are you making this recipe? Then don’t forget to like and leave your comments for this recipe! I LOVE to see your creations so snap a photo and tag BlendOfSpicesbySara on Instagram with the hashtag #blendofspicesbysara
Reach out to me at blendofspicesbysara@gmail.com and also you can follow me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM ,PINTEREST,TWITTER to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Basil Pesto
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup walnuts lightly toasted
- 2 cups basil leaves washed and packed
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1/3 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Add the toasted nut along with the basil, garlic, salt and parmesan cheese; pulse until finely chopped (scrape down the sides of the food processor if needed).
- Then add olive oil and lemon juice and pulse few more times until smooth.
- Season with more salt to taste if desired.
Notes
- Toast the nuts or seeds for extra flavor: In a medium skillet, toast the nuts/seeds over medium heat, stirring frequently (don’t let them burn!), until nice and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour them into a bowl to cool for a few minutes.
- MAKE IT DAIRY FREE/VEGAN: Replace the Parmesan with 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast.
- MAKE IT NUT FREE: Use pine nuts, pepitas or sunflower seeds.
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